Fried Ravioli from Giada De Laurentiis

Another Giada De Laurentiis recipe tried in my kitchen, another Giada De Laurentiis recipe loved in my kitchen. I’ve said it countless times before, but I’ll say it again - there are certain Culinary Gurus that hit a homerun every single time they step up to the (dinner) plate(s). Giada De Laurentiis, Paula Deen, Tyler Florence, Alton Brown, and Emeril are a few that have never let me down. I frequently use their recipes from their shows, cookbooks and/or magazines. I guess their Food Network legends for good reasons.

My most recent success was courtesy of a Giada De Laurntiis recipe from Everyday Italian: Fried Ravioli. It was amazing. I made a great salad, toasted a loaf of Italian bread, and baked a chocolate cake to go along with the meal.

The recipe calls for frying the ravioli in Olive Oil, and I did just that with most of the ravioli. But I wanted to see what it’d be like when other oils were used. I’m always doing peculiar little taste tests like that, so I can pass the knowledge on to you, my beloved cyber buddies. The battle of the oils proved kind of surprising - the olive oil produced much, much, much better fried ravioli than the others (Canola, Vegetable, and Corn). It wasn’t just the taste, either - using the olive oil made them even look better.

Something else my kitchen tests have taught me is this: You don’t want to skimp on the olive oil you buy. The cheaper the cost, the cheaper the taste. I promise you, the good stuff is worth it.

Whatever you do, give this recipe a try as soon as you can. And if you’re one of those people who doesn’t watch Everyday Italian because you’re kind of intimidated by exotic Italian dishes - give Giada a try. She’s like a breath of fresh air, and her smile lights up the whole day. More importantly, of course, she really knows her stuff! I watch the entire lineup of celebrity chefs on the Food Network - and I take a great, great, great many recipes for test drives. I’ve found that no one…absolutely no one…. beats Giada when it comes to reliably delicious dishes. There are some chefs more famous than she is, but none are any better.

Okay, Giada love fest over, here’s her recipe!

Giada’s Fried Ravioli

Olive oil, for frying
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups Italian-style bread crumbs
1 box store-bought cheese ravioli (about 24 ravioli)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 jar store bought marinara sauce, heated, for dipping

Pour enough olive oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F.

While the oil is heating, put the buttermilk and the bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Working in batches, dip ravioli in buttermilk to coat completely. Allow the excess buttermilk to drip back into the bowl. Dredge ravioli in the bread crumbs. Place the ravioli on a baking sheet, and continue with the remaining ravioli.

When the oil is hot, fry the ravioli in batches, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried ravioli to paper towels to drain.

Sprinkle the fried ravioli with Parmesan and serve with a bowl of warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Delicious!

Click HERE for more great recipes and videos from Giada.

The pics are from the Tiger Woods Learning Center Block Party - October 6, 2007. Clicking on the link (”Read More”) below will take you to about 16 more pics from the event.